Environmental Scans Provide Suggestions for HIT/HIE Advancement

The Arizona Strategic Enterprise Technology office (ASET) administers the Arizona Health Information Exchange (HIE) Cooperative Agreement Program that supports the advancement and adoption of HIE through several grant-funded initiatives in the state. Through this program and other outreach, ASET has engaged in a range of strategic initiatives to support health care providers in adopting health information exchange tools to improve health care quality and delivery. To better understand how organizations are adopting information technology and assess their readiness to implement HIE, the ASET office conducted interviews with 32 thought leaders representing 19 different and unique organizations this past fall. ASET did a broad scan of HIE across the state and summarized the common barriers to exchange, the drivers of HIE participation, and the types of assistance needed to increase providers’ exchange capabilities.

Key findings of the Arizona HIE Scan and Community Interviews include the following:

Barriers to HIE ranged from economic issues (cost) to more technical issues (lack of standards and broadband capacity).

All those interviewed were strongly aware of who their key trading partners are and see the use of HIE as a core strategy to improving care and delivery.

Stakeholders are looking for more HIT/HIE education and support through focused workgroups, toolkits, trainings and webinars.

There was particular interest in information and learning opportunities about privacy and security, clinical quality reporting, using HIE use to meet Meaningful Use.

Stakeholders want to participate in dialogue that creates a strong state plan for HIT/HIE adoption.

For the complete Arizona HIE Scan and Community Interviews document, click here.

Some select findings of these environmental scans include the following:

In addition to listing potential barriers and potential benefits for LTPAC provider participation in HIE, the LTPAC scan also produced specific examples of experiences in other states that could help leverage HIE adoption among LTPAC providers in Arizona. For the complete LTPAC scan, click here.